Key mechanism



Sept. 10, 1929. DREVES 1,727,868

KEY MECHANISM Filed July 21, 1926 Henry E. .Dreves I 22 v @ni-or' Patented se s 1a tress. lflzlfieg UNETED S'EA'E'Ed PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY E. DREVES, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO.

KEY MECHANISM.

Application filed. July 21, 1928. Serial No. 123,880.

My invention relates to key assemblies scale and showing a second form of my infor Saxophones or the like and part-icularvention, while ly to means for supporting the keys from Figures l through 7 are views similar to the key tubes, and the principal object of Figure 3 showing four additional forms o my invention is to provide new and imny invention may assume. 55

proved means of this type. in this application I have shown my iny In saxophones and like instr ments each vcntion supporting, from a key supporting is key customarily comprises a facing of soft shaft 11 carried by brackets 12 secured to material such as leather arranged to cnthe instrument body 13, a key 14 comprisgage the opening in the instrument, and ing an intermediate felt member 15 to which 6 y metal backing or cup receiving and supis secured a soft leather facing 16 arranged porting this soft facing usually with ad to close the opening 17 in the instrument ditional soft material such felt interbody 13 by engagement with the rim 18 posed between the facing and the (up: each surrounding the opening 17, and a metal of these keys is customarily supported and cup 19 to which the intermediate felt-soft I operated by means of a lever connected at facing unit 15-16 is secured in any desirone end to the cup and at the other end to able manner, as by gluing. a tube fulcrumed on a single shaft which In the embodiment of my invention serves as the fulcrum for a plurality of key shown in Figures 1 and 2 I have shown the 2 assemblies; many of these tubes are int rkey 1 1 supported from the key supporting connected to cause the keys connected thereshaft 11 by means of a key lever 20 fixedly to to operate in unison upon depression of and permanently connected at one end to a a single finger piece and every key is Cuskey tube 21 fulcrumed on the key shaft 11, tomarily permitted only a slight movement and quickly-detachably and adjustably conaway from the aperture in the instrument. nected at the other end to the key 14; by Under these circumstances it is ordinarily eans of a stud 22 rising from the outer practically impossible to replace one of the ace of the key cup 19, receiving the numfacings without disassen'lbling an appreciber of washers 28 necessary to provide the able part of the key mechanism and in ad desired adjustment then passing through 30 diti n, when a new facing is installed, it is an aperture 2 1 in that end of the key lever ordinarily impossible to adjust the various 20, and finally receiving a nut 25 effective inter-connected key assemblies to provide h ld the pad 14 firmly and fixedly asfor the increased thickness of the new facsembled on the key lever 20 in the desired ing in any way other than by bending the ad usted position yet readily separable 30 art from the key lever 20 merely by removal of My invention overcomes both of these di fthe 1111i fi lti In the embodiment of my lnvention In the drawings accompanying this speci- Shown 111 Flgme 3 I ShQWn the D 14: fication and forming a Part of this {mph supported from the key shalt 11 by means 0 cation I have shown, for purposes of illus- Oi fy 1 3O X dly and permanently do tration, several forms which my invention gfifif g g j g g fig i E fi 7 L, i r u may assume In these drawmgs: de achibl r and ad ustablv co n i c t l f tl Fi ure 1 is a cross-section throu h an n- L 3 L I I M 1e QC a 16 o e other end to the key 14 by means of a cv- 45 strument of the saxophone type showing one lindrical boss 32 rising from the outer face 95 y; n of the key cup 19, receiving the number of F gure 2 1s a plan vlew or the key washers necessary to provide the desired sembly shown in higure 1, adjustmen hen passing throu 'h are 3 is a view of the of t ke l ti nertion of l. drawn aperture arranged to receive a machine screw 36 effective to hold the key 14 firmly and fixedly assembled on the key lever 30 in the desired adjusted position, yet readily separable from the key lever 30 merely by removal of the machine screw 36.

In the embodiment of my invention shown in Figure 4 I have shown the key 14 supported from the key shaft 11 by means of the key lever 40 fixedly and permanently connected at one end of a key tube 41 fulcrumed on the key shaft 11, and quicklydetachably and adj ustably connected at the other end to the key 14 by means of a stud u 42 rising from the outer face of the key cup 19, receiving the number of washers 43 necessary to provide the desired adjustment, then passing through an aperture 44 in that end of the key lever 40, and finally receiving a nut 45, the face of the nut 45 engaging the key lever 40, the face of the cup 19 en gaging the key lever 40 when the washers 43 are omitted, and the washers 43, being all formed convex, and the engaged portions of the key lever 40 being formed concave, to permit swiveling of the key 14 on the lever 40 to permit the key 14 to seat uniformly despite minor inaccuracies, the nut 45 holding the key 14 assembled on the key lever 40 in the desired adjusted position, either for free angular movement from time to time or, by tightening of the nut 45, in fixed annular position, and the key 14 being still readily separable from the key lever 40 merely by removal of the nut 45.

In the embodiment of my invention shown in Figure 5 I have shown the key 14 supported from the key shaft 11 by means of a key lever fixedly and permanently connected at one end to the key tube 51, and fixedly and permanently connected at the other end to the key cup 19, but formed in two parts 52 and 53 connected by means of a securing bolt 54 and with the interposition of the number of washers 55 necessary to provide the desired adjustment, the bolt 54 thus being effective to hold the key 14 firmly and fixedly assembled on the lever section in any desired adjusted position, yet readily separable from the lever section 52 merely by removal of the bolt 54.

In the embodiment of my invention shown in Figure 6 I have shown the key 14 supported from the key supporting shaft 11 by means of a key lever fixedly and permanently connected at one end to a key tube 61 fulcrumed on the key shaft 11, and quick-.

ly-detachably and adjustably connected at the other end to the key 14 by means of a stud 62 rising from the outer face of the key cup 19, receiving the number of washers 63 necessary to provide the desired adjustment, then passing through an aperture 64 in that end of the key lever 60, and finally receiving a nut 65 effective. to hold the key 14 firmly and fixedly assembled on the key lever 60 in the desired adjusted position, held against rotation relative to the key lever 60 by means of pins 66 inserted into cooperating recesses in the stud 65 and the key lever 60, yet readily separable from the key lever 60 merely by removal of the pins 66 and the nut 65.

In the embodiment of my invention shown in Figure 7 I have shown the key 14 supported from the key shaft 11 by means of a key lever 70 fixedly and permanently connected at one end to a key tube 71 fulcrumed on the shaft 11, and quickly-detachably and adjustably connected at the other end to the key 14 by means of a stud 72 rising from the outer face of the key cup 19, receiving the number of washers 73 necessary to provide the desired adjustment, then passing through an aperture 74 in that end of the key lever 70, and finally receiving a nut 75 effective to hold the key 14 firmly and fixedly assembled on the key lever 70 in the desired adjusted position, held against rotation relative to the key lever 7 O by the square cross-section of the aperture 7 4 in the lever 70 and of the cooperating portion of the stud 72, yet readily separable from the key lever 7 0 merely by removal of the nut 75.

It will of course be obvious to those skilled in the art that the angular adjustment provided in the embodiment of Figure 4 may be provided in any of the other embodiments shown herein, and that the detention against rotation present in the embodiments of F igures 6 and 7 may be employed in connection with any of the other embodiments herein shown.

At the same time it will also be obvious to those skilled in the art that the embodiments of my invention herein shown and described do accomplish the principal purpose of my invention, and also that these embodiments may all be variously changed and modified without departing from the spirit of my invention or sacrificing the advantages thereof.

Under these circumstances it will be understood that the disclosure herein is illus trative only and that my invention is not limited thereto.

I claim:

1. A key assembly, for a saxophone or the like, comprising a key shaft, a key tube fulcrumcd on said key shaft, a key, and lover means extending from said key tube and quickly-detachably connected to said key quickly-detachably supporting said key from said key tube.

2. A key assembly, for asaxophone or the like, comprising a key shaft, a key tube fulcrumed on said key shaft, a key, and lever means extending from said key tube and adjustably connected to said key adjustably supporting said key from said key tube.

3. A key assembly, for a saxophone or the like, comprising a key shaft, a key tube fulcrumed on said key shaft, a key, and lever means extending from said key tube and supporting said key from said key tube universally movable relative to said key tube to insure seating of said key.

e. A key assembly, for a saxophone or the like, comprising a key shaft, a key tube fulcrumed on said key shaft, a key, and lever means extending from said key tube and quickly-detachably and adjustably connected to said key quickly-detachably and adjustably supportin said key from said key tube.

5. A key assembly, for a saxophone or the like, comprising a key shaft, a key tube fulcrumed on said key shaft, a key, and lever means extending from said key tube and qu ckly-detaclnibly connected to said key quickly-detachably supporting said key from said key tube universally movable relative to said key tube to insure seating of said key.

6. A key assembly, for a saxophone or the like, comprising a key shaft, a key tube fulcrumed on said. key shaft, a key, and lever means extending from said key tube and adjustably connected to said key adjustably supporting said key from said key tube universally movable relative to said key tube to insure seating of said key.

7. A key assembly, for a saxophone or the like, comprising a key shaft, a key tube fulcrumed on said key shaft, a key, and lever means extending from said key tube and quickly-detachably and adjustably connected to said key quickly-detachably and adjustably supporting said key from said key tube universally movable relative to said key tube to insure seating of said key.

8. A key assembly, for a saxophone or the like, comprising a key shaft, a key tube fulcrumed on said key shaft, a key, and lever means extending from said key tube and quickly-detachably connected to said key quickly-detachably supporting said key from said key tube non-rotatable about the axis of said key.

9. A key assembly, for a saxophone or the like, comprising a key shaft, a key tube fulcrumed on said key shaft, a key and lever means extending from said key tube and adjustably connected to said key adjust-ably supporting said key from said key tube non-rotatable about the axis of said key.

10. A key assembly, for a saxophone or the like, comprising a key shaft, a key tube fulcrumed on said key shaft, a key, and lever means extending from said key tube and supporting said key from said key tube nonrotatable about the axis of said key but universally movable relative to said key tube to insur seating of said key.

11. A key assembly, for a saxophone or the like, comprising a key shaft, a key tu as fulerurned on said key shaft, a key, and. lever means extending from said key tube and quickly-detachably and adjustably connected to said key quickly-detachably and adjustably supporting said key from said key tube non-rotatable about the axis of said key.

12. A key assembly, for a saxophone or the like, comprising a key shaft, a key tube fulcrumed on said key shaft, a key, and lever means xtending from said key tube and quicklydetachably connected to said key piiekly-detachably supporting said key from said key tube non-rotatable about the axis of said key but universally movable relative to said key tube to insure seating of said key.

13. A key assembly, for a saxophone or the like, comprising a key shaft, a key tube fulcrumed on said key shaft, a key, and lever means extending from said key tube and adj ustably connected to said key adjustably supporting said key from said key tube nonrotatable about the axis of said key but unitlly movable relative to said key tube Insure seating of said key.

l-l A key assembly, for a saxophone or the like, comprising a key shaft, a key tube fulcrunied on said key shaft, a key, and lover means extending from said key tube and quickly-detachably and adjustably connected to said key quickly-detachably and adjustably supporting said key from said key tube non-rotatable about the axis of said key but universally movable relative to said key tube to insure seating of said key.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature.

I IENRY E. DREVES.

CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION.

Patent No. 1,727,868. Granted September 10, 1929, to

HENRY E. DREVES.

It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification of the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows: Page 1, line 23, strike out the comma and insert a semi-colon, and lines 82 and 88, for pad 14" read "key 14'; page 3, line 50, claim 9, after the word "key" second occurrence, insert a comma; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with these corrections therein that the same may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this 15th day of October, A. D. 1929.

M. J. Moore, (Seal) Acting Commissioner of Patents.

CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION.

Patent No. 1,727,868. Granted September 10, 1929, to

HENRY E. DREVES.

It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification of the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows: Page 1, line 23, strike out the comma and insert a semi-colon, and lines 82 and 88, for "pad 14" read "key 14"; page 3, line 50, claim 9, after the word "key" second occurrence, insert a comma; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with these corrections therein that the same may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this 15th day of October, A. D. 1929.

M. J. Moore, (Seal) Acting Commissioner of Patents. 

